Why Traditional Strength Training Is Better Than Other Forms of Exercise

You might be thinking: "Isn't it enough that I go on walks and do some yoga here and there?"

The answer is: While these activities are amazing and healthy, there are some health benefits that you can ONLY get from traditional strength training.

Here are some physical health benefits:

Strength training is the BEST way to build physical strength. While other forms of exercise can help you gain some strength, nothing is as effective as traditional strength training
More muscle mass. Similar to the last point, there is no other type of exercise that helps to build muscle as effectively as strength training. If the words building muscle sound intimidating to you, trust me when I tell you that there's nothing to be afraid of -- we are not talking about bodybuilding (if that's what scares you!). The process of muscle building is slow and gradual and you will not get huge. We all need to have enough muscle mass so that we stay strong and independent as long as possible
Better bone density. By training our muscles, we also strengthen our bones because our muscles are attached to our bones. This is especially important for women in midlife. Did you know that women lose on average 20% of their bone mass in the first 5 years of menopause? But this does not have to be your case. You can prevent or reverse it by starting weight lifting
Blood sugar regulation. If you want to have balanced energy throughout the day, have mental clarity and physical energy, strength training (combined with a balanced diet) will help you do that because it's the muscle tissue that keeps your blood sugar and insuline levels regulated
Diabetes prevention. Contrary to popular belief, the best tool against diabetes isn't to weight loss... It's muscle building. If we have decent muscle mass, that muscle will absorb and use the carbohydrates we eat, ad converts them into energy which will then be used by the body. Without that, excess sugars will continue to circulate in blood stream and keep the blood sugar and insulin high, which can lead to diabetes
Increased metabolic rate. There is no other tool that helps to keep the metabolism high and healthy the way strength training does
Easier fat loss. This is directly linked to higher metabolic rate and muscle mass. The more muscle mass we have, the more energy we burn even when we are resting. Many people do so much cardio in order to maintain a certain body weight, and end up fatigued -- partly also because they often lose a lot of muscle in the process. The much easier and healthier tool for fat loss, if this is your goal, is to increase metabolic rate through building muscle
Reduced injury risk and faster injury recovery. If you get hurt or injured, what helps you to recover faster? Physical strength. For example, if you step off the curb or slip on ice and fall, your chances of breaking a bone are a lot lower if you are training regularly. And if you do break a bone, it will regrow faster compared to someone who doesn't train
Better physique. Nothing else will shape the muscle other than strength training, and no other type of exercise gives you the look you probably want. What about cardio? Cardio can make you thinner but it does not shape your body
Improved hormonal health. If done correctly, strength training balances your hormones and through that improves every part of your health
Better sleep. Strength training has been shown to significantly improve both sleep quality and quantity.

Here are some mental health benefits:

Improved mood. Strength training is a powerful antidepressant -- a fact that hasn't gotten enough attention. And, different from many medications, strength training has zero negative side effects
Sense of empowerment. There is an amazing carryover from physical health to mental health! The reasons why experienced weight lifters keep training aren't weight loss or body shaping anymore, even if they may have been at first. It's the positive mental effect that we primarily go back for. This is extremely important to know for any beginners and for people with chronic neuroplastic pain
Better focus. Strength training makes you slow down and concentrate on the movement. It's like a moving meditation, improving your ability to stay present and mindful. My programs are NEVER about moving as fast as you can just to get a ton of reps done without pay focus on your form. You will move through the exercises with full focus building amazing mind-body awareness and connection
Better stress tolerance. When you strength train, you are learning to face your difficulties and work with them, instead of giving up because you get too overwhelmed with stress. You will simply have less stress!
Increased confidence. Strength training makes you feel GREAT about yourself! This is another reason why it's particularly helpful for beginners and for people with neuroplastic pain. Building more confidence is one of the key elements to reducing your symptoms as well
Better ability to set boundaries and speak up for yourself. When you strength train, you build a sense of pride and self respect for yourself. You show up authentically and express yourself more freely. You were never meant to keep quiet, avoid sharing your opinions and let the shame run your life. Strength training will be SO helpful for you!

Why You Need a Customized Workout Plan

You might think, for example: "Can’t I do workouts from YouTube? They are free and many people do them."

That's true: Many people do. But do they also get great results?

Here's what you should consider when it comes to YouTube workouts or other programs that are meant for large audiences and that are NOT tailored to YOU:

Workouts that you find online are oftentimes put together randomly. There's hardly ever any consistent structure, the order of the exercises which is one of the most critical components, is random; and there are hardly any rest breaks which limits your ability to gain true strength
These workouts usually change every time you do them. On a surface, this may sound like a good idea because it seems more interesting, what I know from training people for over a decade is that switching things up too often leaves no opportunity for learning the proper movement, getting used to the exercises and developing muscle and strength consistently
There is no coach there to support you which is important for everyone but especially for beginners and even more so for people with chronic pain / symptoms. You want to be sure that you are doing the movements right and don't get hurt! That's why it's so important that you can share with me videos of your exercises. I want to make sure that you are moving safely!
Online workouts don’t take into account your abilities, preferences, your history, and what ACTUALLY works for your body. Only an experienced trainer and coach can help you with this. You are UNIQUE and you need a unique approach
There is no one to help you modify the plan if you need it. But most people need to modify at least some things. Without a direct access to an experienced coach, you have to figure out it yourself... But it's hard to know what to do!
The workouts may be too complicated. You do not need to combine three different exercises together in order to get benefits but this is what you often find in apps and workout videos. In fact, making things too complicated will slow you down because it's not necessary at all. I'm all about simplicity -- your workouts don’t have to be ANYTHING extreme. You don’t even need any weights if you don’t have them and if you're a beginner
If you have chronic pain, then there's no one there to teach you how to handle it. Most fitness trainers aren't even aware of the concept of neuroplastic pain and might tell you to stretch more or strengthen your core to get rid of the pain... There are things that you can do to prepare yourself for a workout, there are things you can do to make your workout as successful as possible with the right somatic and mindset tools, and I'm here for you to share with you everything that I know. You can text me 5 days a week and we also check in twice a month on our longer zoom calls -- something you definitely won't get from an online fitness influencer or YouTuber with a large audience!

You have ALL my support on this journey!

It Is My MISSION To Help You to GET STRONG. Here's Why.

Too many people see a significant decline in their independence already in their 50s or 60s because they just don’t have the muscular and joint health to keep them strong and independent. I don't want this to be you! You don't want to need help from others sooner than you really should, and that help is often very expensive!
Too many people develop problems with blood sugar regulation (which can ultimately lead to diabetes. About 38 million Americans have diabetes!) while even just two strength training workouts per week would make a HUGE difference in protecting them against it! There is NOTHING that protects you against diabetes better than strengthening your body and increasing muscle mass. Trust me, I know this -- I used to have elevated fasting blood sugar levels and too high post meal blood sugar levels and I fixed it with 2 tools: Strength training and high protein diet
You need to keep your bones strong. Especially women need to be aware of this – during perimenopause and menopause we lose bone mass if we don’t strength train! As mentioned before, many women lose a lot of their bone mass in menopause but YOU don't have to be one of them. You can stop bone loss and even build it when your training (and also nutrition) is on point. Taking calcium pills does not help the way you thought it would, you absolutely MUST strengthen your muscles in order to keep your bones strong
Strength training gives you a faster metabolic rate. There is no other tool that helps to keep the metabolism high as effectively strength training. Being fit simply burns more energy. And that in turn makes losing body fat easier, if this is your goal too
Strength training improves your hormonal health. This includes the sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone (especially important for women at any age but particularly during perimenopause and menopause), testosterone, and also the stress hormone cortisol, and blood sugar regulating hormone insulin.

Cortisol is one of the stress hormones you want to keep in check if you’ve been dealing with nervous system dysregulation and chronic neuroplastic pain or other symptoms associated with it, and correctly done strength training will do that.

Many people experience a quick decline of their health simply because they don't believe that they are capable of regular exercise. Does the following describe you too: You think that you are too inexperienced, too old, that it’s too late to start, that your body just can’t handle exercise or in case of chronic neuroplastic pain, that your sensations just don’t allow you to do this?

The truth is, you really can’t afford not to do strength training. That’s how important it is.

No matter how old you are, starting NOW will pay massive dividends in the years to come.

Years from now, you are extremely grateful that you started TODAY!

I want to prove to you that with my approach, you CAN work out successfully and gain all the health benefits strength training has to offer to you.

What's Included in 2 Months of Induvidualized Strength Training Coaching with Kersten

Personalized workout plan based on your needs. This means, I will create a customized plan for you taking into account your
1) Workout history and experience (it’s okay if you don’t have any and you are completely new) This offer is open for beginners, for those who have some experience, and also for those who have worked out for years
2) Possible pain and / or injuries
3) Equipment that you have available (It's ok if you have just bodyweight, especially if you're a beginner)!
4) Time that you have available
5) Anything else that you feel like is useful for me to know before getting started. This plan will be tailored 100% to YOU!
30-minute discovery call before getting started, where we go over your history, habits, exact goals, pain or injuries, so that I can tailor the plan exactly based on your needs and so that it fits your lifestyle
The workout plan includes videos for every single exercise where I’m demonstrating exactly what you need to do. You don’t have to go to YouTube or Google the exercises or ask your friends how to do them
Text message access to me 5 days a week (Mon-Fri) 10am-5pm MT. You can use these messages to send me videos for form check in, ask any questions about the workouts, individual exercises or chronic pain. This offer does not include nutrition coaching.
Two 30-minute calls per month to check in, troubleshoot any problems that may come up and make changes to your plan if needed
Help navigating chronic symptoms if you have them. I will help you to get started with strength training even if you have chronic pain / sensations and help you navigate and improve them – YES, it is possible! I have been through this myself, and helped many others do the same.
You can apply regardless of your fitness level or whether you have chronic pain or not.

But What If I Have Chronic Pain?

"But what about my chronic pain?" you might ask.

If you have chronic pain and I 100% understand your concern.

If this is the case, I’m here to assure you that you CAN start strength training even if you have some chronic symptoms / sensations.

You need

1) A good coach who helps you and who you can check in with on a regular basis

2) Strategy for regulating your nervous system so that you can have successful workouts (the strategy is more than just trying to think positively or repeating "I'm safe!" because these things hardly help!)

3) Workout plan that is tailored to YOU and fits your personal needs.

I’m here to help you with ALL of these things and I cannot wait to see what we can accomplish together!

I’ve seen many times how people’s chronic sensations start to go away too when they start strength training. While this is not a guarantee that your pain will go away instantly — there are MANY pieces to the puzzle when solving chronic pain – one thing is clear: Strength training also trains your BRAIN. You become more confident with every workout session; you prove to your brain every time when you lift that you can do this and you are not afraid.

The reason why this works is NOT physical. The ability to train is much more about regulating and training your nervous system than it is about the physical activity itself. Your body will obviously benefit from exercise (see all the physical health benefits above!) but when it comes to your chronic pain / sensations, then reducing these happens in your nervous system.

Helping you with this is what I am really, really good at and I promise to you to hold your hand every step of the way.

Hi, I'm Kersten!

I'm a nutrition coach and fitness expert with 10+ more years in the fitness industry. My goal is to get more and more people into strength training because this is literally one of the BEST and completely side-effect free things we can do to bulletproof our health and improve our vitality.

Making strength training accessible for people who have chronic pain is my BIG passion, not only because I have already helped many people get strong but also because I have personal experience with it.

I had 7 years of chronic, neuroplastic pain, and there was a point where a well-meaning chiropractor told me that I should never deadlift again because my back was in "such a bad shape".

However, I knew that there's a better way and that I don't have to give up weight lifting. Today, I can move any way I want. Just recently I deadlifted my all time heaviest weight, 260 lbs, despite what I was once told...

And I'm here to tell you that with a customized workout plan, right guidance around your chronic neuroplastic symptoms, and 1:1 coaching from someone who's been where you might be now -- YOU can get strong too.